In contrast to stable and natural abundant carbon‐12, the synthesis of organic molecules with carbon (radio)isotopes must be conceived and optimized in order to navigate through the hurdles of radiochemical requirements, such as high costs of the starting materials, harsh conditions and radioactive waste generation. In addition, it must initiate from the small cohort of available C‐labeled building blocks. For long time, multi‐step approaches have represented the sole available patterns. On the other side, the development of chemical reactions based on the reversible cleavage of C−C bonds might offer new opportunities and reshape retrosynthetic analysis in radiosynthesis. This review aims to provide a short survey on the recently emerged carbon isotope exchange technologies that provide effective opportunity for late‐stage labeling. At present, such strategies have relied on the use of primary and easily accessible radiolabeled C1‐building blocks, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and cyanides, while the activation principles have been based on thermal, photocatalytic, metal‐catalyzed and biocatalytic processes.

The need for carbon-labeled radiotracers is increasingly higher in drug discovery and development (carbon-14, β − , t 1/2 = 5730 years) as well as in positron emission tomography (PET) for in vivo molecular imaging applications (carbon-11, β + , t 1/2 = 20.4 min). However, the structural diversity of radiotracers is still systematically driven by the narrow available labeled sources and methodologies. In this context, the emergence of carbon dioxide radical anion chemistry might set forth potential unexplored opportunities. Based on a dynamic isotopic equilibration between formate salts and [ 13 C, 14 C, 11 C]CO 2 , C-labeled radical anion CO 2•− could be accessed under extremely mild conditions within seconds. This methodology was successfully applied to hydrocarboxylation and dicarboxylation reactions in late-stage carbon isotope labeling of pharmaceutically relevant compounds. The relevance of the method in applied radiochemistry was showcased by the whole-body PET biodistribution profile of [ 11 C]oxaprozin in mice.

Harvesting sunlight to drive carbon dioxide (CO2) valorisation represents an ideal concept to support a sustainable and carbon-neutral economy. While the photochemical reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO) has emerged as a hot research topic, the full CO2-to-CO conversion remains an often-overlooked criterion that prevents a productive and direct valorisation of CO into high-value-added chemicals. Herein, we report a photocatalytic process that unlocks full and fast CO2-to-CO conversion (<10 min) and its straightforward valorisation into human health related field of radiochemistry with carbon isotopes. Guided by reaction-model-based kinetic simulations to rationalize reaction optimisations, this manifold opens new opportunities for the direct access to 11C- and 14C-labeled pharmaceuticals from their primary isotopic sources [11C]CO2 and [14C]CO2.

The need for carbon-labeled radiotracers is increasingly higher in drug discovery and development (carbon-14, -, t1/2 = 5730 years) as well as in PET, for in vivo molecular imaging applications (carbon-11, +, t1/2 = 20.4 min). However, the structural diversity of radiotracers is still systematically driven by the narrow available labeled sources and methodologies. In this context, the emergence of carbon dioxide radical anion chemistry might set forth potential unexplored opportunities. Based on a dynamic isotopic equilibration between formate salts and [13C, 14C, 11C]CO2, C-labeled radical anion CO2●- could be accessed under extremely mild conditions within seconds. This methodology was successfully applied to hydro-carboxylation and bis-carboxylation reactions in late-stage carbon isotope labeling of pharmaceutically relevant compounds. The relevance of the method in applied radiochemistry was showcased by the whole-body PET biodistribution profile of [11C]oxaprozin in mouse.